1. Schema Theory (Paper – 1.1.4:Unit – 5)
Dr S K Biswas

2. Introduction Reading is a major way to learn.
Reading ability is a basic and significant criteria to scale one’s learning level.
Schema plays an important role in the process of reading. This theory is useful in helping the improvement of students’ reading ability.

3. Introduction to Schema Theory
Psychologists and psycholinguists have used the concept of schema (plural: schemata) to understand the key factors affecting the comprehension process.
Simply, schema theory states that all knowledge is organized into units. Within these units of knowledge or schemata, information is stored.
Schema theory is an explanation of how readers use prior knowledge to comprehend and learn from text.

4. What is Schema?
The term "schema" was first used in psychology by Frederic Bartlett in 1932 with the meaning of an active organization of past experiences.
Later schema was introduced in reading by David Rumelhart (1980), Jannifer Carrell (1981) and Hudson (1982) to identify the important role of background knowledge in reading comprehension.
A schema is a general knowledge structure which is used for understanding.

5. Definition of Schema
Rumelhart (1980) put forward the concept of schema theory basically as a theory of how knowledge is mentally represented in the mind and used. He wrote that “all knowledge is packaged into units. These units are the schemata”
Anderson and Pearson (1984) define it as "an abstract knowledge structure".
From the above definitions, we may conclude that schema is the prior knowledge gained through experiences and stored in one’s mind. It is an abstract structure of knowledge.

6. Schema Theory
The fundamental tenet of schema theory assumes that written text does not carry meaning by itself. Rather, a text only provides directions for readers as to how they should retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge.
This previously knowledge is called the readers' background knowledge (prior knowledge), and the previously acquired knowledge structures are called schemata.
Efficient comprehension requires the ability to relate the textual material to one's own knowledge.

7. Schema Theory
The schemata of a reader are organized in a hierarchical manner, with the most general at the top and down to the most specific at the bottom.
Reading comprehension operates in two directions, from bottom to the top and from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy.

8. TYPES OF SCHEMATA
Generally, there are three major types of schemata, namely, linguistic schemata, formal schemata and content schemata which are closely related to reading comprehension.
Linguistic schemata:
Linguistic schemata refer to readers’ existing language proficiency in vocabulary, grammar and idioms. They are the foundation of other schemata. As is known, linguistic knowledge plays an essential part in text comprehension. Without linguistic schemata, it is impossible for the reader to decode and comprehend a text.

9. TYPES OF SCHEMATA Formal schemata:
Formal schemata are the organizational forms and rhetorical structures of written texts.
Different kinds of texts and discourse are distinguished by the ways in which the topic and other information are linked together to form a unit.
This underlying structure is known as formal schemata.
Readers use their schematic representations of the text to help comprehend the information in the text.

10. TYPES OF SCHEMATA Content schemata:
Content schema refers to background knowledge of the content area of the text.
It contains conceptual knowledge or information about what usually happens within a certain topic and how these happenings relate to each other to form a coherent whole.
Many studies show that readers’ content schemata influence their reading comprehension more greatly than formal schemata. On the whole, the familiarity of the topic has a direct influence on readers’ comprehension. The more the reader knows about the topic, the more easily and quickly he gets the information of the text. Therefore, if one wants to be an efficient reader, he needs to try to know the knowledge about more fields and topics.
Learners with more prior knowledge can better comprehend.

11. Narrative Text
 Broadly defined, narrative text tells a story. It is found in the form of short stories, folktales, tall tales, myths, fables, legends, fantasies, science fiction — even in the reporting of news stories or in biographies and autobiographies.
The narrative structure most often features a beginning, middle and an ending. It most often also features clear story elements including:
1. characters
2. settings
3. themes
4. a central problem, or conflict
5. a sequence of events that form a story line, or plot

12. In classroom when you teach comprehension skills in relation to narrative texts you will:
Focus discussions on story elements and encourage students to relate story events and characters to their own experiences
Encourage students to compare the structure of one story to that of other stories they have read
Prepare visual guides, such as story maps of the structure of a story, to help them recall specific story elements.

13. THANK YOU